Million Dollar Damage Claims Reduced to Less than $1,000

Personal Injury

Taylor | Anderson represented a company which produces and supplies products to the drywall industry.

An employee of the company was driving a company-owned vehicle and was involved in a rear-end, low-impact collision in a fast-food drive through. Five plaintiffs claimed injuries, and two of them sent pre-litigation demands equal to the policy limit ($1 million) of the company’s insurance policy.

In view of the fact that the company would likely be found liable by a court for any injuries caused by its employee, but mindful that the damages claimed by the plaintiffs were clearly excessive, the Taylor | Anderson defense team advised the company to admit liability before trial but ask a jury to determine the appropriate amount of damages.

The Taylor | Anderson team successfully had two plaintiffs struck from the lawsuit prior to trial: one for failure to comply with the pre-trial fact-finding process and one for failing to appear at trial in response to a subpoena (we suspected that he might not appear so we subpoenaed him). During a two-day jury trial in Tarrant County, Texas, the jury awarded two of the remaining three plaintiffs $0. The jury awarded the final plaintiff (who was one of the two who had sent a policy demand) less than $865, which was less than 1/10 of her medical expenses.